The Blessing of Family Eccentricities
Chapter four from the book The Little Boy Down the Road written by Mr. Doug Phillips inspired me to write this post.
The word eccentricity means irregularity, departing from the norm, special, something out of the ordinary (that only you can do). Large families tend to be eccentric (a lot of variety and different personalities). That is great. It means having a home that is filled with life. The larger the family, the more potential for special gifts and work. Welcoming variation in an environment of unity is key to family prosperity. We cannot prosper unless we can love one another.
The more children distance themselves from the unique look and feel of their family, the more they hinder their potential as multigenerational visionaries because they are exchanging the blessing of family eccentricities for the curse of peer conformity. Scripture says that were your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Time is the greatest treasure a child has. Therefore we must spend that time wisely. How we spend the majority of our day, such as on the internet or with friends, shows where our treasure is. If we spend time with family, that is were our heart will be. Eccentricities reflect both strengths and weaknesses, both add life and color to the church. From the strengths we learn character, and from the weakness we learn to have compassion on others.
Sounds of life
Sounds of a household are windows into the souls of the family. Many homes today are filled with the sounds of the polluting television and shouts of family despair. Homes can also be like a dead tomb because there are no children, which means there is no noise. The Christian household is supposed to be different. It is to be a place alive with love and joyful sounds, filled with people of all ages who are sinners, thankful to God for life, forgivness, and for each other. Sometimes a Christian household could be described as gloriously organized chaos, it is the noise of everyday life. We should love the sounds and eccentricities of our homes and families. It is a gift from God (1 Chronicles 16:28-29).
6 comments:
Great post Rebecca! A good reminder to love the noisy things.
Jessica
That is TOTALLY something I struggle with.....my brothers are pretty noisy.....and this helped me! Thanks!
I am definitely not at a loss for noise. lol!
Blessings,
Shelby
Rebecca This will help me I struggle with noise Katrina
First, I love your background. We like old books. Your article is very well written. I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Where does my heart lie? Is it with my family? or is it with feeling sorry for myself? I like the part about going away from your family takes you away from the vision of the family. We've had a fair amount of arguing and discontent lately and I'm hoping it will change around.
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